CIHM 

Microfiche 

Series 

(Monographs) 


ICMH 

Collection  de 

microfiches 

(monographies) 


[MI 


Canadian  InstHuta  for  Historical  Microraproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  da  microraproductions  historiquat 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes 

The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best  original 
copy  available  for  filming.  Fe«.-res  of  this  copy  which 
may  be  bibliographically  unique,  which  may  alter  any  of 
the  images  in  the  reproduction,  or  which  may 
significantly  change  the  usual  method  of  filming  are 
checked  below. 

□ Coloured  covers  / 
Couverture  de  couleur 

□ Covers  damaged  / 
Couverture  endommag^e 

□ Covers  restored  and/or  laminated  / 
Couverture  restaur^e  et/ou  pellicul^e 

I    I  Cover  title  missing  /  Lb  titre  de  couverture  manque 

I    I  Coloured  maps  /  Cartes  g^ographiques  en  couleur 

□ Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)  / 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

□ Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations  / 
Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

□ Bound  with  ether  material  / 
Relid  avec  d'autres  documents 

□ Only  edition  available  / 
Seule  6ditk>n  disponible 

I  ]  Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion  along 
' — '  interior  margin  /  La  reliure  serr^  peut  causer  de 

I'ombre  ou  de  la  distorslon  le  long  de  la  marge 

int^rieure. 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restorations  may  appear 
— '  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these  have  been 
omitted  from  filming  /  Use  peut  que  certaines  pages 
blanches  ajout6es  lors  d'une  restauration 
apparaissent  dans  le  texte,  mais,  lorsque  cela  etait 
possible,  ces  pages  n'ont  pas  6\6  fitm^es. 

□ Additional  comments  / 
Commentaires  suppl^mentaires: 


Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 

L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  mellleur  exemplaire  qu'il  lui  a 
6\6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details  de  cet  exem- 
plaire qui  sont  peut-£tre  uniques  du  point  de  vue  bibli- 
ographiique.  qui  peuvent  modifier  une  image  reproduite, 
ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une  modification  dans  la  mMho- 
de  normale  de  filmage  sont  indiquds  cl-dessous. 

I    I  Coloured  pages/ Pages  de  couleur 

I    I  Pages  damaged  /  Pages  endommag6es 

□ Pages  restored  and/or  laminated  / 
Pages  restaurdes  et/ou  pellicul^es 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed  / 
Pages  d^lor^es,  tachetdes  ou  piqudes 

I    I  Pages  detached  /  Pages  d^tach^es 

Showthrough  /  Transparence 

□ Quality  of  print  varies  / 
Oualit^  inhale  de  I'impresston 

□ Includes  supple.Tientary  material  / 
Comprend  du  materiel  suppl^mentalre 

j  1  Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata  slips, 
' — '  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to  ensure  the  best 
possible  image  /  Les  pages  totalement  ou 
partiellement  obscurcies  par  un  feuiilet  d'errata,  une 
pelure,  etc.,  ont  6\6  film^es  a  nouveau  de  fa^on  k 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 

I  I  Opposing  pages  with  varying  colouration  or 
' — '  discolourations  are  filmed  twice  to  ensure  the  best 
possible  image  /  Les  pages  s'opposant  ayant  des 
colorations  variables  ou  des  decolorations  sont 
filmSes  deux  fois  afin  d'obtenir  la  meilleure  image 
possible. 


This  item  Is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

C*  decufflent  est  IHm<  au  tsux  d«  rMuetien  indtqu4  el-desious. 


10x 

14x  18x 

22x 

26x 

30x 

1 

1 

A 

1 

16x  20x  24x  28x  32x 


Th«  copy  ftlm«d  h«r«  Hm  b««n  r«produe«d  thanks 
to  th«  g«n«roaity  of: 


L'M«mplair«  filmi  fut  rtproduit  griet  i  la 
QinArositA  da: 


Ibtloiial  Library  of  Cwiadi 


BIbllotMqw  MtloMi*  dv  Canadi 


Tha  ifnagat  appearing  hara  ara  tha  bast  quality 
poaslbia  eonaidar'rig  tha  condition  and  iagibility 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  kaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  apacif icatiena. 


Original  copies  in  printad  papar  covars  ara  fllmad 
beginning  with  tha  front  covar  and  ending  on 
tha  last  page  with  a  prinrad  or  illustrated  impraa- 
sion.  or  tha  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copiaa  ara  filmed  beginning  on  tha 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion,      ending  on  the  lest  page  with  a  printed 
or  illuatratad  impranlon. 


The  leat  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol        (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  tha  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  appliaa. 

Maps,  pistes,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  retios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  expoaura  ara  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  ss  many  frames  ss 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  images  suivsntas  ont  M  raproduites  avec  Is 
plus  grsnd  soin.  compta  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
da  la  nettet*  de  rexempiaire  film*,  et  en 
conformiti  avec  lea  eenditiona  du  centrat  da 
filmage. 

Lea  axemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couvarture  an 
papier  eat  imprimia  sont  filmis  en  commandant 
par  la  premier  plat  at  an  tarminant  soit  par  Is 
darniire  page  qui  comporte  une  emprainta 
d'impraaaion  ou  d'illustration.  soit  par  la  second 
plat,  salon  Is  cas.  Tous  las  autres  axamplaires 
originaux  sont  filmte  sn  commandant  par  la 
pramiAre  page  qui  comporte  une  emprainta 
d'imprassion  ou  d'illustration  at  en  tarminant  par 
la  darniire  page  qui  comporte  une  lelle 
emprainta. 

Un  dee  symbolea  suivanta  apparaftra  sur  la 
derniire  imsge  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  la 
cas:  la  symbols        signifis  "A  SUIVRE".  Is 
symbole  ▼  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartas,  planches,  tableaux,  etc..  peuvent  etre 
flimte  i  das  taux  de  reduction  diffirents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clich*.  ii  est  film*  a  psrtir 
de  t'angie  supArieur  gsucha,  de  gauche  i  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bes.  en  prenant  le  nombra 
d'imagea  nicaaaaira.  Lea  diagrammes  suivants 
iliustrent  la  mithoda. 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

1 


13  10.  to 


THE  CHDRCH'S  NATURAL  ALLIES 


BT 


FRANCIS  W.  GREY 


Rxprarrao  rwm  Tne  UMnmnrr  MAOAnm,  OcKom,  19io 


THE  CHURCH'S  NATURAL  ALLIES 


IT  is  ri|^t  and  proper,  according  to  an  old  Latin  proverb, 
to  take  a  lesson  from  the  enemy,  and,  while  it  it  true 
of  the  Church  to-day,  as  it  has  always  been,  that  no  weapon 
formed  against  her  shall  prosper,  this  must,  humanly  speak- 
ing, be  due,  in  the  future,  as  in  the  past,  to  her  policy,  using 
the  word  in  its  legitimate  sense,  of  turning  rach  wtapons 
against  her  enenues.  It  has  been  her  invariable  and  God- 
guided  wisdom,  tliat  is  to  say,  to  employ  whatever  means 
mii^t  rightly  tend  towards  ensuring  her  victory  over  her 
assailants,  even  when  those  means  have  been  originally 
devised  by  her  assailants  themselves.  Her  whole  history, 
from  the  Upper  Room  in  Jerusalem  to  the  present  time,  is 
ona  long  record  of  her  triumphs,  even  in  ai^Muent  defeat 
and  humiliation. 

Again,  her  enemies,  since  the  Day  of  Pentecost,  have  been 
of  two  kinds,  open  and  secret;  the  "  ravening  wolves",  spoken 
of  by  Saint  Paul  to  the  elden  of  Miletus  and  Ephesus,  and 
the  men  from  araong  her  authorized  rukjrs  and  teachers, 
"speaking  pern  k  i",  against  whom  he  was  no  less 
careful  to  warn  ■  >  jonoeming  both  something  will  be 
said  in  this  article, .  -oe  those  whom  I  ahall  venture  to  refer 
to  as  the  Church  e  natural  allies  are  the  same  against  open 
and  secret  enemies  alike.  And,  if  it  be  objected  that,  in  the 
past,  the  Church  has  never  looked  for  human  allies  but  to 
her  bitter  cost,  I  answer  that  never  have  conditions,  spiritual 
as  well  as  temporal,  been  quite  the  same  as  they  are  to-day. 
Further,  and  as  I  shall  hope  to  sh^w,  it  is  no  mere  human 
alliance  that  is  here  to  be  considered,  but  one  m  mattere 
of  vital  import  to  Christianity  only.  Concerning  this, 
moreover,  I  would  suggest,  that  some  foreshadowings  of  it, 
so  to  speak,  are  to  be  found  in  Holy  Scripture.    For  if 


2 


it  be  tnw,  u  it  is,  tLat  our  BleBsed  Lord  said,  when  the 
oocasion  arose,  "he  that  is  not  with  Me  is  against  Me"  ;  it 
Imo  kts  Cfue  that,  oa  another  occasira,  He  said  of  one  wka 

was  casting  out  devils  in  His  Name,  and  whom  His  disciples, 
in  their  seal  for  His  honour,  forbade,  "  because  he  followeth 
not  with  tn:  Fnbid  him  not,  for  he  that  is  not  against  us  is 
on  our  part."  (S.  Mark  IX,  38,  39.)'  Again,  Saint  Paul, 
the  great  champion  of  the  Church's  unity  and  authority, 
speaking  of  some  who,  he  says,  "preach  Christ  a!  contenticm", 
faainoenly  and  without  eharity,  does  not  hesitate  to  add: 
"Notwithstanding,  every  way,  Christ  is  preached,  and  I 
therein  rejoice."  (Philippians  I,  16,  18.)  I  shall  hope  to 
return  to  these  foreshadowings,  in  due  course;  just  now,  I 
will  aak  only  that  the  i»inciide  here  indicated  may  be  bone 
in  mind  as  a  possible  justificatiim  of  the  allianoe  with  wbkik 
we  are  to  concern  ourselves. 

Before,  however,  considering  *he  possibility  and  the 
terms  of  any  conceivable  allianoe  between  the  diuieh  of  Gkxl 
and  any  other  forces  that  may  lawfully  be  called  Christian, 
it  may  be  well  to  give  some  attention  to  her  enemies,  open 
and  secret.  Of  thrae,  the  open  and  avowed  opponents,  not 
of  Catholicism  only,  but  of  all  true  ChrisUanity,  call  for  our 
first,  and  most  immediate  attention;  for  a  study  of  their 
sources  of  strength  and  methods  of  attack;  in  order  to  ascer- 
tain, to  the  best  of  our  ability,  what  lessons  may  be  learned 
from  tbem,  and  how  they  may  be  used. 

U  there  is  one  fact  more  clearly  shewn  than  all  others, 
as  the  outcome  of  the  Ferrer  agitation,  it  is  that  the  forces 
of  sodalknn  and  anarohism,  in  the  old  world,  and  in  the  new, 
are  fully  aware  of  the  strength  to  be  derived  from  union, 
and  'rom  unity  of  purpose;  are  thoroughly  well  organized 
under  leaders  of  whose  ability  and  generalship,  at  least, 
there  can  be  no  question  at  all.  And,  while  it  may  be  true, 
as  claimed  by  those  who  have  made  a  stucty  of  the  subject. 


I  PerhaiM  the  words  (S.  John  xx)  ' '  They  beckoned  to  their  partam  who 
were  in  the  other  ihip'' might  be  taken  M  aaotlMr  ioatwiw  of  lAat  te  hm  alhM 


3 


that  tlM  best  niBed]rWram  the  State's  |x<int  of  iriew--ap^ 

eooi'Uism  and  anarchism  is  "  rightly-organized  trades-unko- 
ism a  Christian,  whether  Catholic  or  Protestant,  cannot 
well  accept  the  statement  without  qualification.  He  would 
•ay,  and  juatly,  that  "rie^tly  organiied"  means  organised 
on  Christian  principles,  since  that  is  the  only  "  right "  which 
he  can,  or  is  willing  to  recognize ;  that  no  other  can  hope  to 
withstand  the  forces  arrayed  against  lawful  labour,  no  less 
than  against  Society. 

It  is  this  consciousness  of  unity  of  purpose  which  under- 
lies all  the  efforts  of  socialism  to  eradicate  patriotism  and  to 
establish  "intematicmalinn",  m  it  is  the  fashion  to  eall  it; 
to  Ineak  down  all  "artificial  barriers"  of  political  allegiance 
between  the  masses  of  one  country  and  those  of  another.  It 
is  just  one  more  "  devil's  mockery  "  of  Catholicism,  of  that 
"fellowBhip  of  the  Sainta"  which  knows,  "in  Christ  Jesus  ^ 
neither  Jew  nor  Gentile,  bond  nor  free,  since  we  are  ail  His 
brethren,  and  "every  one  members  one  of  one  another  ",even 
as  the  so-called  Renaissance  was  "  a  devil's  mockery  of  the  New 
Krth".  *  It  is  a  policy,  proofe  of  which  may  be  met  with 
at  every  turn;  it  is  only  recently  that  I  came  across  a  fairly 
noteworthy  instance  of  it,  in  the  capital  of  the  Dominion. 
It  was  in  the  form  of  a  notice,  to  this  effect : 

"Workers  of  the  world  unite!    You  have  nothing  to 
lose  but  chains:  and  you  have  a  world  to  gain!" 

Leaving  out  the  reference  to  more  or  less  imaginary  chains — 
except,  of  course,  those  of  their  own  forging,  catence  pee- 
eatorum — this  motto,  it  occurred  to  me,  would  serve,  excellently 
well,  for  my  purpose  of  indicating  who  are,  or  who  should  be, 
the  Church's  natural  allies  in  her  actual  conflict  with  the 
forces  which,  during  the  year  that  has  passed,  have  given 
such  striking  evidences  <rf  thehr  nun^n,  their  powier, 
their  ruthlessness,  their  world  wide  influence  and  single- 
ness of  aim,  none  other,  indeed,  than  the  overthrow 

I A  mjiDt  ol  tbe  UU  Fathw  Alfred  Young,  CaP. 


jrdj^^  it  ^  .xif.  The  motto,  thu.  .dH»t.d, 

"CMrtiMtoltliBWorid,  unite.  You  have  nothing  to 
kw;  and  you  haviB  »  woild  to  gaint" 

"Nothing  to  lo«.'»    I.  that  not  true,  even  should  ^  be 

M  (Xur  I^rd  laid  down  His  life  for  us?  "  A  world  to  iain." 
NotforouwlveB  butforHim.    What  else  do  we  mean  when 

hL^"^;  ^^?^***"*'^"*"^  Andthemeane?  Ch^ 
t  an  unity  and  singleneBB  of  aim.  the  only  true  "interaation- 
jdi^"  because  of  His  ordering  "Who  hath  madeTZ 
Uood  aU  nations  of  men  for  to  dwcU  on  aU  the  face  of  the 
earth  ;  an  aUiance,  defensive  and  aggressive,  of  aU  foUowen 
and  lovers  of  the  Incarnate  Son  of  God  ""owers 

Chri.^if^'Lr*5'-^;i.*^?J.'  constitutes 
Oinstianity;  belief  m  the  Divinity  and  in  the  Incarnation 

of  Our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Ouist,  who  though  He  ^e 

^  Saint  Paul  tells  us  "  God  over  all.  Blessed  for  evemore 

r^^^'   rlL^*  *  Flesh,  and  dwel 

«mo.«  u.."  This,  and  this  only,  differentiates  a  real  S 
tian  from  a  merely  nominal  one;  the  belief  and  profession, 
^hps.  heart,  and  life,  that  "Jesus  Christ  is  coL 

if .    •  never  been,  and  never  wiU  be,  any  other 

Chnstiamty  possible.  ^ 

in  K  T     ^'  °'  '^'^  ^'       Ch««A'«  allies 

m  her  latest  warfare  with  the  powers  of  evil,  "old  foes  wii^ 

V         "^""^r^.  ^e^^y'^  saying?  Those,  surely, 
«  iT^'o*""  °'  be  they  Orieitals,  S 

'Orthodox  Protestants  To  some,  perhaps  to  manrevi 
the  mere  suggestion  of  such  an  alliance  with  "heretic  and 
■^tics  •  may  seem  little  less  than  ^lisloyalty  to  Catholic 
truth,  If  no  worse.   It  wiU  be  my  endeavour,  m  what  here 

o  lows  to  justify  what  I  have  suggested;  to  shew 
for  such  an  alhanoe^  with  orthodox  Protestantism  especiaUy, 
■mce  It  IS  m  the  western  world,  chiefly,  the  world  domLted 


5 


religiously,  not  le«  by  Protettantiim  than  by  CathoUdm, 
that  the  fight,  againet  the  neweit  enemiee  of  both,  miMk  bt 

WlfML 

In  order,  however,  to  arrive  at  such  a  justification,  if, 
indeed,  it  be  poMible  tu  do  eo,  it  will  be  necessary,  in  addi- 
tion to  what  I  have  ventured  to  term  the  leriptunl  fof»- 

riiadowings  of  such  an  alliance,  to  go  back  to  what,  I  think, 

was  surely  among  the  strangest  revelations  ever  made  by 
God  to  one  of  His  servants.  Most  of  us  Icnow  something, 
at  iMst,  all  we  need,  m  earr  to  know,  about  the  moral  con- 
dition of  paganism  at  the  ^  inae  when  Christianity  first  began 
to  be  preached.  But  even  though,  as  Kingsley  says,' 
"the  sins  of  the  heathen  world  are  utterly  indescribable," 
ludi  aa  no  man  would  dare  to  write,  much  less  to  {mnt, 
as  they  were;  the  City  of  Corinii?  was  a  byword  throughout 
such  a  world,  'or  all  that  was  vilest  and  most  unspeakable. 
Yet  it  was  concerning  Corinth,  of  all  places,  that  God  said 
to  Saint  Paul:  "I  have  much  people  in  tiiis  city."  (Acta 
xviii,  10.) 

It  has  been  the  "tradition"  of  Catholics,  almost,  one 
might  say,  an  article  of  faith,  ever  since  the  great  religious 
revolt  of  the  sixteenth  century,  to  regard  Protestantism  as 
a  "pestilent  heresy",  aa  spiritually,  and  irredeemably  evil, 
out  of  which  no  good  can  possibly  come,  and  for  which  nr 
excus3  can  be  possibly  made.  Strictly  speaking,  Protest 
antism,  in  so  far  as  it  has  departed  from  the  Catholic  Faith, 
is  a  heresy,  but  that  it  contains  elements  of  truti),  truths 
out  of  proportion,  wrongly  insisted  on,  if  70U  will,  Jinnot 
be  denied.  It  is  this  measure  of  truth,  ib  .r/sBtly  believed, 
and  faithfully  practised  by  men  and  women  in  good  faith, 
to  whom  Protestantism  is,  simply,  "the  gospel,"  that 
accounts,  reUgiously  speaking,  both  for  its  continuance 
and  for  the  lives  of  those  who  know  no  other  form  <»> 
measure  of  the  truth  of  God.  Protestants  are,  therefore, 
"material"  heretics,  but  not  "formal";  heretics  in  fact, 
but  not  in  intention. 


IPiviMCto  "HypktU." 


6 


But  it  no  less  is  the  "tradition  "  of  Protestants,  a  tradition 
extending  over  the  same  period,  to  hold  "Popery"  in  utter 
ftbhorrenoe,  as  a  soul-tyranny,  a  tissue  of  Ues  and  deceit 
a  veritable  system  of  idolatry,  the  reUgion  of  anti-Christ. 
It  requires  a  certain  amount  of  courage,  therefore,  to  plead 
with  the  traditionaUst,  on  either  side,  that  there  may  be  good 
in  the  other,  if  only  "in  spite  of  his  errors".  StiU  more 
does  It  need  courage  to  urge  that,  in  face  of  a  common  and 
united  foe,  such  traditions  should  be  set  on  one  side,  if  not 
forgotten,  and  that  the  followers  of  the  One  Lord,  whatever 
diflferences  may  otherwise  keep  them  apart,  should  fight, 
side  by  side,  under  his  banner,  against  His  enemies. 

In  considering  even  the  possibility  of  such  an  alliance 
vm  must,  necessarily,  take  into  account  the  causes,  which, 
in  the  first  instance,  led  to  our  "unhappy  divisions",  and 
assume,  honestly,  whatever  responsibility  may  be  found 
to  rest  upon  us,  as  Catholics.  It  takes  two,  as  the  old  saying 
has  It,  to  make  a  quarrel;  but  it  is  no  less  true  that  the  older 
and  better  informed  participant  must  bear  the  greater  blame. 

Who,  then,  apart  from  human  perversity,  the  wiles  of 
Satan  and  the  inscrutable  mysteries  of  Di\ine  Providence 
is  reaUy  responsible  for  the  existence  and  continuance  of 
heresy?  Charles  Kingsley,  from  whose  "  Hypatia  "  I  have 
ah«ady  quoted,  puts  a  noteworthy  answer  to  this  question 
into  the  mouth  of  one  of  his  characters,  the  Abbot  Philam- 
mon.    "On  the  Catholic  Church  alone,"  he  makes  him  say 
"hes  the  blame  of  all  heresy  and  unbelief:  for  if  she  were 
for  one  day  that  which  she  ought  to  be,  the  world  would 
be  converted  before  nightfaU."   Is  not  this  witness  only 
the  simple  and  shameful  truth?   Had  the  Church  retained 
her  first  Pentecostal  fervour  would  the  "Reformation"  have 
been  possible,  as,  perhaps,  in  a  very  real  sense,  it  was  neces- 
sary?  If  every  individual  CathoUc,  man  or  woman,  in  a 
parish,  a  city,  or  a  diocese,  Uved,  but  for  one  day,  as  God  and 
the  Church  mean  us  to  live,  "worthy  of  the  vocation  where- 
with  we  are  caUed,"  how  many  Protestants  and  unbelievers 
m  that  neighbourhood  would  remain  unconverted?  Of 


7 


any  diould  so  remain  the  CSiurch  in  that  pariah,  city, 
or  diocese  might  truly  say,  with  Her  Lord;  "now  they  have 
no  excuse  for  their  sin."  And  if  "Popery"  be  all  that  Pro- 
testants believe  it  to  be,  why  has  it  continued  to  exist,  after 
nearly  four  craturies,  in  countries  enjoying  "the  ligjit 
the  pure  Gospel,"  unless  it  be,  as  they  must  themselves 
admit,  that  their  lives  have  not  been  in  accordance  with 
the  faith  they  profess  to  hold. 

But  the  excuse,  so  far  as  Protestants  and  unbelievers 
are  concerned,  does  unfortunately  exist  everywhere,  in  the 
lives  of  nominal  Catholics,  and  never,  probably,  to  so  great 
an  extent  as  at  the  present  day,  save  and  except  during 
the  period  immediately  preceding  the  so-called  Reformatiim. 
For  that  spiritual  revolt,  with  all  its  eternal  and  incalcul- 
able consequences,  the  Church,  in  a  very  real  sense,  was, 
and  remains,  responsible;  in  and  by  the  lives  of  her  clergy, 
her  laity,  and  even  of  her  very  Popes.  For  the  continued 
existence  of  Protestantism,  as  for  the  socialism  and  anar- 
chism which  are  the  logical  outcome  of  the  first  rejection 
of  her  Divine  authority  in  spirituals,  the  Church,  with  the 
exceptions  already  indicated,  must,  once  more,  be  held 
accountable.  Not,  thank  God!  in  the  measure  and  degree 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  since  Protestantism  is  now  an 
inherited  condition  rather  than  a  revolt,  but,  none  the  less, 
by  reason  of  every  "lax  Catholic"  who,  forgetful  of  his 
calling,  his  duties,  and  his  privileges,  has  become  an  enemy 
of  the  cross  of  Christ. 

If  then  the  Church,  in  this  sense,  and  in  this  way,  is 
responsible  for  the  existence  of  Protestantism,  what  is  to  be 
our  attitude  under  the  stress  of  modem  conditions  towards 
those  who,  through  no  fault,  and  by  no  conscious  desire  of 
their  own,  are  outside  her  fold,  yet  actually,  by  virtue  of  being 
baptized  Christians,  belong  to  her  care  and  to  her  jurisdic- 
tion ?  Hitherto,  it  has  been  to  regard  them  as  enemies,  as 
fmmal  heretics  to  be  c(m verted,  or  else  avoided  in  spirituals; 
and  we  have  spent  our  energies  in  controversies  ooooem- 
ing  mafctm  which,  howevw  important  in  themselvM^  are  as 


8 


nothing— I  writa  undo*  omrection— compared  with  the  vital 

issue:  Christianity  Socialism:  God's  Kingdom,  or  the 
devil's.  This  attitude  of  antagonism,  as  already  shewn,  has 
been,  and  s*.»U  is,  common  to  them  and  to  us.  We  have  at- 
tached more  importance,  seeming,  to  the  validhy  ot  in- 
validity of  Anglican  orders  than  to  Anglican  orthodoxy; 
they,  on  their  part,  have  made  more  of  our  loyalty  to  Christ's 
Vicar  than  of  our  loyalty  to  Christ  Himself.  Surely,  in  the 
face  of  a  common  enemy,  that  supreme  loyalty,  in  so  far  as  it  is 
shared  by  them  and  by  us,  should  come  first. 

It  is,  therefore,  along  the  Unes  of  a  reconsideration  of 
our  traditional  points  of  difference,  their  relegation  to  the 
place  that  properly  belongs  to  them,  that  we  find  it  necessary 
to  take  into  account  not  only  the  "  essentials  "  that  divide  us, 
but  the  misunderstandings  which  are  not  less,  but,  rather, 
more  responsible  for  keeping  us  apart.  We  shall  have  to 
consider,  also,  the  essentials  whereon  we  are  agreed,  which 
spring  from,  and  centre  in,  our  common  belief  in  the  IMvinity, 
and  in  the  Incarnation,  of  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

The  chief  of  these  is,  evidently,  that  loving  devotion  to 
His  Person,  which  necessarily  follows  any  real  belief  in  Him. 
Yet  it  is,  strangely  enough,  on  this  very  point,  on  that  which 
should  be  the  strongest  bond  of  union  between  "  all  them  who 
love  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  m  sincerity,"  that  the  first  mis- 
understanding, and,  consequently,  the  first  cause  of  diviaicm, 
arises. 

It  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  for  any  Catholic  not 
a  convert,  or  who  has  not  made  a  study  of  Protestant 
devotional  literature,  to  realize  the  intense,  loving  de- 
votion to  the  Person  of  Our  Blessed  Lord  which  fills  uie  Uves 
of  BO  many  pious  persons  outside  the  visible  fold  of  the  Church. 
The  norm  of  Catholic  sanctity  is  so  clear  and  distinct,  that 
any  other  is  inconceivable;  we  reason  from  our  own  ex- 
perience, and  conclude  that  since  it  is  in  conformity  witL  the 
laws  gov«rnmg  the  spiritual  life,  as  revealed  in  the  Saints, 
all  other  experience  must,  necessarily,  be  at  variance  with 
them.  Itisju8tasdifiicult,inaword,fOTaCaUi<^tobdiev« 


9 


in  Protestant  piety  and  sanctity— are  not,  after  all, 
Proteetaat,  btrt  CSiristlan,  howevor  imperfect— «§  it  mart 
have  been,  speaking  with  all  reverence,  for  Saint  Paul  to 
realize  that  God  had  "  much  people  "  in  such  a  city  as  Corinth. 
Nor  is  it  less  difficult  for  a  devout  Protestant  to  realise  that 
"  Papists  "  have  any  true  devoti(m  to  Our  Messed  Lord;  ikB 
cause  being  the  same,  in  either  case;  a  misunderstanding  oi 
the  terms  used  by  the  other,  but  chiefly  on  the  Protestant  side. 

Admitting,  then,  wliat  is  readily  capable  of  proof,  that 
wthodox  Protestants  have  a  very  real  and  fervent  devotion 
to  the  Person  of  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  that,  possessing  this 
essential,  at  least,  the  greatest,  indeed,  of  all  sanctity,  there  are 
real  saints  among  them,  "  souls  naturally  Catholic,"  because 
Quistlike,  living,  daily  and  hourly,  in  tb^  CMisdous  love  and 
presence  of  The  Beloved;  how  shall  we  accoimt  for  their 
traditional  belief  that  "  Papists,"  with  some  few  and  rare  ex- 
ceptions,' have  no  such  devotion  ?  It  arises  largely,  I  think, 
from  the  ambiguous  use  of  the  one  word:  "  worship." 

In  the  '  authorized  "  or  King  James  version  of  the  En^h 
Bible,  "  worship  "  is  used,  indiscriminately,  for  the  adoration 
(latria)  ^ch  Catholics  render  to  God  and  to  God  <»ly,  and 
for  the  reverence  (worship,  dulia)  which  they  pay  to  Our 
Lady  and  to  the  Saints;  just  as  odor  are  (to  adore)  is  used, 
in  the  Vulgate,  in  either  sense.^  When,  therefore,  Protest- 
ants assert  that  Catholics  "  worship  the  Saints  ",  they  mean 
that  we  pay  to  creatures  that  adoration  which  is  the  sole  due 
of  the  Creator,  and  a  false  conception,  amounting  to  a  charge 
of  polytheism,  arises  out  of  a  statement  which,  properly  under- 
stood, is  not  only  true,  but  as  innocent  as  the  expresaon  that 
a  man  "  worships  "  his  wife,  or  a  mother  her  children.  The 
real  meaning  of  the  word,  as  indicating  a  measure  of  worth, 
or  of  worthiness,  has  been  lost  sight  of,  though  it  is  still  em- 


>  S.  BwiiMd,  S.  Fraa^,  ThomM  k  Kampk,  Fenrioa,  Father  Faber,  Mid  Cardinal 
Newman,  are  typical ' '  Papist "  lovm  of  Our  Biened  Lord,  in  the  ejrea  of  devout  Vt^ 
tettanta. 

'  Adorate  fcabellum  ciui,  "  Wotship  (at)  His  footstool."  Of  another  of  the  ser- 
vant* who  owed  a  hundred  pence  ia  said  that  he  "adored"  hia  ereditor  (adoravitT 
La.  bMwugkt  or  imploNcl  Wan). 


10 


So,  again,  the  Catholic  doctrine  and  pnurtioe  of  thA  T« 
vocation  of  Saints,  baaed,  as  it  is,  on  inter^%^yS\^J 
on  the  reverence  due  to  spiritual  "  worshipfuke^  "  H 
posabiy  on  account  of  this  veiy  ambiguity^  ^ 
hopelessly  nnsunderstood  and  misinterpilted  Z^t^ 
m  common  with  aU  Christians,  believe  in  the  ST  of 
mtercessoiy  prayer.   But  they  have  come  to  believe  or  to 

sZ^short  :i  t^'t  r  r  and teffil^ 

stops  short  at  the  veil,  just  when,  according  to  all  the  laws  of 
pmtual  hfe,  ,t  should  become  most  efficacious  because  Sed 
Wm  ofor  ^t*"""' -  P««ibility  of  vari^r^tile 
♦hfo  ^  r^'"^^  ^^^^^S,  they  are  afraid  to  believe  that 
those  divided  from  us  by  "  the  narrow  stream  of  deaX'  to 

rL«inHim''  tT  f^r'  '^^y 

we  dwell  m  Him  ,  still  plead  m  the  Father's  House  for  thoi 
who  have  not  yet  made  the  passage  of  the  JordT^  tI 

a  spmtual  loss  so  contrary  to  all  the  instincts  and  longbgs 
of  the  human  heart,  to  aU  that,  n.  .um]ly,-if  one  may'^iy 
can  rhT  '  ^--^lyand  gladly  hold"^ to  ? 

l-opeiy  .  They  are  convinced  that  Catholics  not  onlv  ask 
the  intercession  of  the  Saints,  but,  literally,  pay  them  I^e 

have  thereby  derogated  from  His  glory.  ' 

The  misunderstanding,  arising,  as  has  been  said  mvt 
of  the  one  word,  "worship",  as  signifying^oraL 
was  doubtless  deliberately  fostered  by  th!  mor^  lleni 
'^reformers  '  of  the  sixteenth  centuiy,  as  the  records^?  the 
penod  plain  y  shew.  But  in  those  whom  they  misled  a^ 
in  the  inheritors  of  their  separation  from  the  One  FJd  ^ 
^zeal  for  God's  honour  has  been  pervertedtto  abho * 
i^oe  of  a  practice  which,  as  they  underetand  it,  has  ab^ 

nvnVj  '^'t"""..  ^        «o«vinced  that  ^ 

mvocation  of  Our  Blessed  Lady  and  of  thoee  choaen  iWenS 


11 


and  servants  of  God,  whom  we  call  Saints,  differs  only  in 
degree,  but  not  in  kind,  from  our  "  invocation  "  of  any 
holy  person  on  earth;  that  is,  from  asking  "  the  effectusd 
fervent  prayer  of  a  righteous  man",  or  woman,  wfaidi  thdr 
own  Bible  tells  them,  "  availeth  much";  that  we  atribute, 
to  Our  Lady  and  the  Saints,  neither  omniscience  nor  omni- 
potence, but  only  that  knowledge  of  the  family  concerns — 
to  speak  with  all  reverence—which  all  those  "within  the 
veil  "  enjoy  in  God,  and  only  that  power  of  intercession 
which  those  who  are  beyond  sin  and  self-will  must  surely 
possess  with  the  Beloved  "  I^lrst-Bom  among  many 
brethren  ";  and  one  cause  of  misunderstanding,  at  least, 
will  have  been  removed  from  between  them  and  us. 

There  is  Scriptural  proof,  and  to  spare,  as  to  this  power 
of  merit  and  of  intercession;  let  it  suffice  to  refer  to  a  few 
passages  only.  "  My  servant  Job  shall  pray  for  you,  for 
him  will  I  accent."  That  is  the  intercessory  prayer  of  a 
saint'  on  earth.  "Remember  Abraham,  Thy  servant." 
That  is  the  pleading  of  the  merits  of  a  saint  passed  beyond 
the  veil  that  we  call  death:  :;ot  dead,  "  for  God  is  not  the 
God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  living."  Why  should  it  be 
lawful  for  a  Protestant  to  say,  with  the  Psalmist,  "  For  Thy 
servant  David's  sake,  turn  not  away  the  face  of  llune 
anointed";  and  unlawful  for  a  Catholic  to  say:  "For 
Thy  Mother  Mary's  sake,  turn  not  away  my  prayer"?  H  a 
David's  prayer  more  efficacy  than  hf  r*.  or  will  He  liaten 
more  readily  to  the  "  man  after  His  own  heart  "  than  to 
the  Mother  who  fed  Him  at  her  Virgin  breast?  What  does 
He  say.  Himself?  "  If  any  man  minister  imto  Me,  him  will 
My  Father  honour."  Of  how  much  honour,  then,  shall 
She  be  deemed  worthy  of  whom  it  is  written  that  of  Her 
"  was  bom  Jesus,  Who  is  called  Christ,"  that  He  was  "  sub- 
ject "  to  Her;  who  ministered  to  Him,  from  the  stable  at 
Bethlehem  to  the  Tomb  by  Calvary,  as  only  a  Mother  can  ? 
Venerable  Bede,  indeed,  in  his  homily  on  the  text,  ''  Blessed 
are  they  who  hear  the  word  of  God  and  keep  it,"  gives  us 
the  true  secret  of  Her  blessedness.   She  was  more  blessed, 


12 


he  mj9f  in  keeping  The  Word  in  Her  heart,  by  loving  Him, 
tiian  by  bearing  Him  in  her  womb,  when  He  "  wae  '"«**t 
Pleah  and  dwelt  amongst  us."*  Is  not  this  another  mis- 
undeiBtanding  that  might  well  be  cleared  away,  if  possible? 
This,  and  the  reason  why,  with  Saint  Elisabeth,  we  caU  Her 
"  Mother  of  Our  Lord  ",  of  Emmanuel,  God  with  us;  with 
the  Cburch  "Mother  of  God",  in  witness  to  the  nality  of 
Qs  Incamatim. 

it  is  in  reUttion  to  the  supreme  and  meffable  pledge 
and  memory  of  His  Love,  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  that  the 
most  fatal  of  all  our  luisunderstandings  with  our  separated 
bretiiren  has  arisen.  Here,  again,  we  cannot  doubt  that 
the  misunderstanding  was,  in  the  beginning,  deliberately 
fostered  by  those  who,  having  lost  faith  themselves  in  the 
Divine  Mystery,  were  determined  to  draw  the  "  unlearned 
and  ignorant  "  into  their  net  of  error,  on  the  plea  of  teach- 
ing them  a  "  purer  faith  ".   Such  wilful  pervenion  of  truth 
was,  of  course,  wholly  without  excuse  in  its  originatois, 
who,  trained  in  the  terminology  of  Catholic  theology  and 
philoK^y,  maliciously  misused  and  misinterpreted  defi- 
nitions, the  real  meaning  and  import  of  which  they  under- 
stood perfectly.   The  error,  however,  once  propounded, 
found  ready  acceptance  among  populations  accustomed 
to  take  the  priests'  word,  on  matters  of  doctrine,  as  final 
and  not   to   be   questioned,   obedience   to  constituted 
authority,  spiritual  and  secular,  being  a  marked  character- 
istic nf  the  Feudalism  which  was  so  soon  to  disappear.  The 
same  seal  for  God's  honour  which  had  been  misdirected  against 
a  false  conception  of  Catholic  devotion  to  the  Saints,  was  now 
misdirected  against  belief  in  the  simple  and  literal  truth 
<rf  Our  L(Hd's  own  words.   It  was  only  too  easy,  that  is  to 
say,  to  misinterpret  such  terms  as  "  real  "  and  "  natural  ", 
in  relation  to  the  mode  of  Our  Lord's  Presence  in  the  Blessed 
Sacrament,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  give  an  impression  of 
Catholic  doctrine  as  wide  of  the  truth  as  the  difference 


■  Lib.  IV.  Cap.  49  ia  Lue.  IL 


18 


between  worship  aad  adoratioa.  All  the  distinctions,  so 
«M«fuQjr  laid  down  by  Saint  Thomas,  betweoi  a  sacramental 

mode  of  presence  and  one  in  conformity  with  the  ordinary 
laws  of  a  natural  body,  of  time  and  of  space,  were  scornfully 
swept  aside  as  "scholastic  speculations",  and  a  "purer 
goepd  "  preached  instead. 

Yet,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying,  f  rom  what  it 
has  been  my  privilege  to  know  of  God's  "  much  people  " 
in  the  City  of  Ckmfusion,  that  the  real  heart-belief,  diffi- 
etilt  and  vague  of  expression — tending  to  mysticism 
rather  than  to  definition — of  devout  non-Catholics,  in 
regard  to  this  supreme  manifestation  of  Divine  Love 
and  oondesoension,  approaches  very  nearly,  in  essence,  *f 
not  in  terms,  to  the  heart-belief  of  pious  Catholioo.*  For 
under  and  beyond  all  dogmatic  definitions  which  our  faith 
accepts,  our  belief  in  our  consciousness  of  the  Presence 
of  Our  Lord  in  the  Blessed  Eucharist  is  a  spiritual  reality, 
a  part  of  the  soul's  life — "  My  Beloved  is  mine,  and  I  am 
His  " — ^a  consciousness  not  to  be  expressed  in  words.  It 
is,  if  I  may  say  so,  the  difference  between  the  teaching 
of  Saint  Thomas  wd  his  Lauda  Sim,  or  his  Adoro  Te; 
between  love  and  reason.  It  is  on  this  point,  more  than 
<m  any  other,  that  devout  souls,  both  within  and  without 
the  visible  communion  of  the  Church,  must  surely  desire 
to  be  at  peace  and  in  mutual  charity  and  comprehension. 

As  the  last  of  the  misunderstandings  to  be  taken  into 
account,  and  as  closely  connected  with  the  foregoing,  we  have 
that  authority  of  the  Church's  ministers,  commonly  spoken  of, 
among  Protestants,  as  "  priestcraft  ",  and  as  "  tyranny  over 
men's  consciences  ".  Once  more,  we  have  to  charge  the 
leaders  of  the  religious  revolt  in  the  sixteenth  century  with 
wilful  falsification  of  Catholic  teaching,  with  deliberate 
miireprMentation  of  a  divinely-constituted  authority  the 


■  See,  for  instance,  the  hymn  of  the  Presbyterian,  Dr.  H.  Bonar,  beginaioc 
"Here,  O  my  Lord,  I  see  Thee  face  to  face ;  Her*  may  I  touch  and  handle  thingi  UMeea.' 
Many  other  iostancee  might  be  given 


14 

restraintB  of  which,  on  their  pride,  tbeb  piMricm,  and  their 

■elf-will,  they  were  determined  to  shake  off,  on  the  plea  of 
"  Christian  liberty      And  naturally,  since  these  heresiarchs 
were,  ahnoet  without  exception,  priests  and  religious  who 
had  renounced  their  former  faith  from  motives  of  which  God 
alone  has  the  right  to  judge;  of  which  He  ha*  already  judged, 
and  rendered  to  each  of  them,  "  according  to  his  works." 
The  miaunderttanding,  however,  as  it  commonly  exists,  arises 
from  a  mistaken  and  wholly  arbitrary  distinction  between 
the  authority  of  the  Church,  and  that  of  the  God-enlightened 
conscience  of  every  faithful  Christian.   It  was  Cardinal 
Manning,"  I  think,  who  pointed  out  that  a  Catholic  is  not 
pnest-ridden,  but  conscience-ridden,  and  that  every  consistent 
Protestant,  who  obeys  the  dictates  of  his  conscience,  is  in 
precisely  the  same  condition.   The  Protestant  conscience 
mvokes  the  infallible  authority  of  the  Written  Word;  the 
Catholic,  that  of  the  living,  infallible  Church,  "  the  pillar  and 
ground  of  the  truth      but,  behind  and  above  Bible  and 
Church  is  the  same  Supreme  Authority,  God  ffimself.  It 
18  only  because  the  Bible  is  His  Word,  only  because  the  vdoe 
of  the  Church  is  His  Voice—"  he  that  heareth  you,  heareth 
Me"— that  either  has  any  claim  to  Christian  obedience. 
Once  more,  if  this  were  clearly  understood,  a  further  cause 
of  division  would  be  removed  from  l^etween  those  who  aUke 
submit  to  one  and  the  same  authority— that  of  God.   It  is 
not  man  we  obey,  when  we  accept  the  teaching  or  instruction 
of  a  priest,  but  God,  even  as  Ihey  Usten  to  Him;  it  is  not  to 
man  that  we  confess  our  sins,  but  to  God,  in  the  penon  of  His 
minister. 

Yet,  when  all  explanations  have  been  made,  and  all 
misunderstandinp,  so  far  as  may  be,  cleared  away  between 
"  men  of  goodwill, "  there  remain  the  questions,  both  of  the  pos- 
sibility, and  of  the  lawfubess  of  such  a  Christian  "  intemation- 
afism  "  aa  I  have  here  ventured  to  suggest  for  consideration. 
Our  differences  with  our  separated  brethren  arise,  as  has  been 


'  In  bis  Relisio  Vkiorit. 


15 


diewn,  largely  from  thdr  misinterpretation  of  certun  Oathofic 
toma  and  pnctices,  but  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  those 
practices,  even  in  their  lawful  forms,  and  rightly  defined,  have 
certain  devotional  and  spiritual  effects,  certain  influences  on 
tiie  Hfe  of  the  soul,  whidi  differentiate  the  religimis  Catholic 
from  the  religious  Protestant.  We  have  to  decide,  therefore, 
to  what  extent  that  differentiation  is  real  and  typical,  and  to 
what  extent  only  apparent.  Also,  whether,  with  all  loyalty 
to  our  faith  and  to  our  traditions,  there  is  any  way  in  which 
we  may  lawfully  emphasize  the  essential  oneness  of  the  life 
which  has  its  source,  its  growth,  its  nourishment,  and  its 
consummatijn,  in  Christ. 

We  have  seen  that  one,  if  not  the  only  reason  why 
Catholic  devotion  to  Our  Blessed  Lady  and  to  the  Saints  haa 
been  construed  by  Protestants  into  a  derogation  from  the 
honour  due  to  God  alone,  is  the  confusion  of  ideas  arising  out 
of  the  ambiguous  use  of  the  word  "worship".  But,  if  we  really 
desire  to  prove  our  contention  that  the  Mother  of  God  and 
the  Saints  do  not,  as  our  separated  brethren  honestly  believe, 
"  take  the  place  of  Christ  "  with  us,  how  are  we  to  convince 
them  ?  Not,  certainly,  by  any  lessening;  or  verbal  minimising 
of  our  devotion  to  the  Saints,  and  to  their  Queen  and  ours, 
but  by  a  fuller  realization  that,  as  Saint  Augustine  says, "  they 
truly  honour  the  Mart3as  who  imitate  the  Martyrs.'"  In 
what,  after  all,  did  their  sanctity  consist,  save  only  in  their 
likeness  to  their  Lord ;  and  who  was  more  like  Him  than  She 
who,  for  thirty  years,  lived  in  daily,  hourly  intercourse  with 
Him,  as  a  Mother  with  Her  Son  ?  We  have  Scriptural  warrant, 
moreover,  for  setting  up  the  Saints  as  models  to  be  copied. 
"  Be  ye  followers  (imitators)  of  me,"  wrote  Saint  Paul,  to  his 
disciples, "  as  I  am  of  Christ. "  And  again :  "  Mark  them 
who  walk  even  as  you  have  us  for  a  model."  In  proporticm, 
therefore,  as  we  have  true  devotion  to  Our  Lady  and  the 
Saints,  we  shall  learn,  and,  better  still,  share  in  the  secret  of 
their  sanctity,  likeness  to  their  Lord  and  ours.    Then,  and 


>  Sem.  47  de  Sanetk. 


19 


thn  only,  shall  we  convince  our  MspMitod  bisthiw  that  ow 

devotion  to  the  Saints  leads  us,  not  away  from  Christ,  but 
ever  nearer  and  nearer  to  Him,  since  it  was  devotion  to  Him 
that  made  the  Saints  to  be  Saints.  Then  shaU  the  leproaeh 
that  is  fallen  upon  us  be  taken  away,  and,  on  a  iwmuMp^ 
devotion  to  One  and  the  same  Lord,  be  founded  that  unity 
of  all  who  love  Him  which  alme  can  withstand  the  unity 
txisting  among  the  fbUowen  of  Satan. 

This,  of  the  essence,  and  the  qiiritual  ^cacy  of  true 
devotion  will,  of  course,  hold  even  more  true  in  relation 
to  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  the  means,  of  Our  Dear  Lwd's 
own  choosing,  not  only  of  making  us  like  Himself,  which 
is  much,  but  of  making  us  one  with  Himself,  "members 
of  His  Body,"  which  is  infinitely  more.  It  is  this  grace  of 
union,  chiefly,  and  before  all  else,  that  He  bestows,  on  those 
who  love  Him,  in  Holy  Communimi.  It  is  a  gmce  im- 
meawrably  easier  of  attainment  by  us,  to  whom  He  has 
granted,  of  His  unmerited  favour,  a  valid  ministry  and 
wBd  sacramoits,  than  by  our  brethren;  yet  only  the  Last 
Day  will  reveal  how  much  more  neariy  and  more  fully 
many  of  them  have  attained  to  this  oneness  with  Christ 
Our  Lord  than  many  of  us,  in  spite  of  the  longer  and 
the  harder  way  they  must  needs  traverse,  to  readi 
this  consummation  of  all  the  soul's  love  and  de«re;  that 
He  should  dwell  in  us,  and  we  in  Him  "  as  wax  melted  into 
wax,"  to  use  Saint  John  Chrysostoui's  wonderful  simile. 
It  will,  surely,  be  on  the  reaiiMtion  of  our  common  attain- 
ment, by  the  path  He  marks  out  or  each  of  us,  to  this  grace 
of  union  with  Him,  that  we  may  hope  to  base  a  real  felk»w- 
ship  of  all  whom  He  loves,  and  who  love  Him. 

The  alliance,  then,  seems  to  be  possible,  without  any 
disloyalty,  on  either  side,  to  that  which  each  holds  as  truth, 
even  as  two  or  more  nations  have  often  united  in  resistance 
to  a  common  foe,  each  remaining  true  and  loyal  to  its  own 
king  and  government,  forgetting,  it  may  be,  old  grievances 
and  causes  of  difiference,  in  the  stress  of  the  more  imme- 
diate duty  of  self-preservation  against  powerful  oppressicm. 


17 


Then  is  no  need,  that  is  to  say,  even  were  it  kwful,  to  mini- 
mize the  real  difTerences  that  exist  between  us,  but  there 
is  urgent  need  of  defining,  clearly,  what  those  differences 
•re,  and  not  to  be  kept  apart,  unnecessarily  and  even  fatally, 
by  misunderstandings  and  mere  ambiguities,  in  the  presence 
of  a  uiuted,  organised,  and  aggressive  enemy,  eager  to  take 
advantage  of  our  oisunion,  and  to  exaggerate  it,  in  order 
to  weaken  the  forces  of  Christianity. 

But,  even  if  possible,  is  such  an  alliance,  between  the 
True  Church  and  "  heretics  "',  a  lawful  one?  Once  more, 
I  desire  to  profess,  in  all  sincerity,  my  entire  and  unreserved 
submission,  cm  this  as  on  all  other  matten,  to  the  divine 
authority  of  the  Church.  But,  apart  from  those  Scriptural 
foreshadowings,  to  which  I  must  again  allude;  apart  from 
the  fact  that  the  present  sharp  distinction  between  Christ's 
Kingdom  and  Satan's,  is,  except  for  the  times  of  persecution, 
litrrally  without  parallel  in  the  history  of  Christendom, 
there  is  the  vital  fact  that  the  stniggle  is  not  merely  between 
the  Church  and  the  forces  of  evil,  but  between  those  forces 
and  all  that  can,  in  any  real  sense,  be  called  Christianity. 
In  proportion,  therefore,  as  Protestants  and  Catholics  can 
agree  to  unite  on  the  basis  of  a  common  love  and  devotion 
to  the  Divine,  Incarnate  Son  of  God,  in  so  far  will  each  gain 
strength  from  the  alliance.  If  it  is  not  to  the  interest  of 
the  various  denominations  of  Protestants  to  see  the  greatest 
body  of  professing  Christians,  the  Catholic  Church,  oppressed 
or  overcome — if  that  were  possible — ^by  socialism,  it  is  equalfy 
true  that  the  ('hurch,  humanly  speaking,  would  lose,  incal- 
culably, by  the  victory  of  socialism  over  Protestantism  as 
a  Christian  religion.  In  a  word,  Christianity,  whether 
Catholic  or  Protestant,  has  everything  to  gain  by  unity  in, 
and  for  Christ,  and  everything  to  lose  by  division.  The 
gates  of  bell  shall  not  prevail  against  the  Church,  even  as 
her  Lord  promised  her;  yet  there  is  no  reason  why  she  should 
not  accept  the  help  of  thoee  who,  in  the  primary  essence 
of  all  true  Christianity,  are  at  one  with  her.  That  sudi  an 


18 


alliance  would  lead,  iMviUbty,  to  unity,  to  imI  oneOMi 

who  may  doubt  ^  ' 

So  far,  we  have  dealt  only  with  the  external  foet  of 
Christianity.   It  may  be  well,  however,  before  oondudiiig, 

to  Bay  something  regarding  its  secret  enemies,  since,  in  thia 
case  also,  they  are  no  less  the  foee  of  all  true  Christianity 
than  they  are  of  the  Church.  The  conflict,  here,  to  put 
It  in  as  few  words  as  possible,  rages  round  the  authenticity 
and  divine  authority  of  the  Written  Word  of  God,  even 
at  the  open  conflict  rages  round  the  Person  and  Divinity 
ot  the  Living,  Incarnate  Word,  God  made  Man. 

Now,  if  there  is  one  characteristic  which,  more  than 
any  other,  is  supposed  to  differentiate  Protestantism  from 
Catholirism,  it  is  the  attitude  ascribed  to  each  towards  the 
Holy  Scriptures.   Protestantiwn  chums,  and  is  popularly 
held  to  be,    the  "religion   of  the  Bible",  CathoUcism, 
the  religion  of  tradition  and  of  human  authority.  I 
say  "supposed",  deliberately,  'or,  as  there  is  abundant 
evidence  to  shew,  the  Church  of  the  Fathers,  of  the  School- 
men, and  of  the  Middle  Ages,  was,  emphatically,  the  Church 
of  the  Bible.   On  her  liturgy,  ier  theology,  her  hymnology, 
on  her  whole  literature,  the  Latin  Bible,  according  to  the 
witness  of  a  non-CathoUc  scholar,  Dr.  MaiUand,  m  his  *'  Dark 
Ages,"  has  left  an  impress  only  to  be  compared  with  that 
made  by  the  English  Bible  on  English-speaking  Protestantism. 
Indeed,  if  the  comparison  halts,  in  any  measure,  it  is 
because  the  impress  is  deeper,  and  more  evident  to  those 
who  Itnow  how  to  find  it,  in  the  former  case  than  in  the 
latter.   There  is  a  sense,  in  which  it  is  as  literally  true 
to  say  that  the  Western,  or  Latin  Church  is  as  truly  the 
work  of  the  Vulgate  as  it  is  to  say  that  AngUcanism 
IS  the  work  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer;  such 
work  meaning,  of  course,  the  formation  and  nourishment 
of  a  distinct  type  of  spiritual  life  and  character.  More, 
It  IS  no  less  true  that  to  those  unfamiliar  with  the' 
phraseology  of  the  Vulgate— to  refer,  once  again,  to  Dr 
Maitland,— the  Church's  language,  whether  devotional  or 


19 


literary,  is  almoet  incomprehensible;  ita  beautiet  loat  or  hid- 
den.   It  is  a  cipher  without  a  key. 

How,  then,  it  may  be  asked,  has  it  come  about  that, 
iinoe  the  dxteenth  oentuiy,  the  Catholic  Church  which, 

on  the  evidence  of  Blessed  Thomas  More,  and  many  others,' 
encouraged  and  allowed  the  use  of  the  vernacular  Scrip- 
tures by  the  laity,  has  apparently  withheld,  or,  at  all  events, 
seemed  to  discourage  their  use?  The  answer,  so  far  as  the 
charge  Ii.t.  any  basis,  which  we  do  not  admit,  would,  I  think, 
be  found  in  the  two  words:  "the  Reformation."  That  is 
to  say  that  a  liberty  conceded  lo  the  laitj,  of  a  united 
Christendom  would,  for  a  time  at  least,  be  guarded,  if  not 
actually  restricted— both  being  within  the  Church's  right, 
who  can  withhold  inopportune  good  as  well  as  forbid  evil — 
when,  in  whole  countries,  it  degenerated  into  a  licence  which 
appalled  the  more  moderate  reformers  themselves;  and 
the  Bible,  which  Christendom  owed  to  the  Church,  was 
wrested  into  a  weapon  against  her.  It  was  inevitable,  indeed, 
that,  under  the  circumstances  then  prevailing,  not  only 
should  the  Church  find  herself  compelled  temporarily  to 
restrict  the  general  use  of  the  vernacular  Scriptures,  which 
the  printing  press  might,  otherwise,  have  made  available 
for  every  educated  Catholic,  rich  or  poor,  but  that  the 
faithful  themselves,  seeing  the  blasphemous  misuse  and 
perversion  of  Scripture,  that  was  going  on  around  them 
should  come  to  regard  vernacular  translations  as  suspect, 
or  even  heretical.  Being  moreover,  for  the  most  part,  imable 
to  read  the  V'ulgate,  they  naturally  lost,  in  a  very  short  while, 
their  ancient,  reverent  familiarity  with  the  sacred  text. 
In  a  word,  the  conditions  of  war  and  rel)ellion  are  wholly 
differont  to  those  of  peace,  and  the  Catholic  remnant,  in 
England  and  Scotland,  fighting  for  very  existence,  clung 
less  tenaciously  than  they  might  have  done  to  matters  not 
absolutely  essential  to  salvation.  And  it  is  no  small  part 
of  the  pwialty  incurred  by  the  Church,  throu{^  her  lespon- 

n  »  ''.^"f'"''  Bi**:"  •««*  QiMoK  "Lolkrdv  and  Engl. 

Refn:"  Vol.  II:  ■  The  Eu^Uh  bible. 


20 


aibility  for  the  reformation,  that  both  the  scriptural  and  the 
liturgical  spirit  should  have,  seemingly,  departed  from  her 
faithful  laity. 

But  if  the  Churdi,  prior  to  the  religious  revolt  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  was— as  she  still  is— in  this  sense,  the 
Church  of  the  Latin  Bible,  it  is  no  less  true  that,  in  a  very 
real  sense,  English-speaking  Protestantism  is  the  fruit  of 
the  English  Bible,  which,  as  has  been  truly  said,  "  has  been 
the  sole  spiritual  as  it  has  been  the  sole  literary 
food  of  countless  millions  of  English  speaking  people." 
The  secular  literature,  as  well  as  the  devotional,  of  the 
countries  commonly  called  Anglo-Saxon  had  been  coloured 
and  influenced  by  the  "  authorized  "  (King  James)  version 
of  Holy  Scripture  to  an  extent,  as  was  said  just  now,  only 
to  be  compared  with  the  influence  of  the  Vulgate  on  Latin 
Christianity,  that  is  on  the  later  Roman  Empire,  and  on 
European  Christendom  for  the  thousand  years  that  the 
Church's  language  was  practically  the  sole  medium  of 
civiUzed  intercourse  between  the  learned  of  one  country 
and  those  of  another.  It  is  Froude,  no  lover  of  the  Church, 
or  of  Catholicism,  who,  in  his  Life  and  Letters  of  Erasmus, 
speaks  of  mediaeval  Europe  as  a  literary  republic,  with  one 
common  language,  Latin;  and  who  deplores  England's 
severance  from  this  community,  on  "  rehgious  "  grounds. 
That,  briefly,  is  what  European  civilization  owes  to  the 
Church.  That,  also,  is  why  the  influence  of  the  EngUsh 
Bible  has  been  said  to  have  been  less  than  that  of  the  Vulgate. 

Yet  it  was,  unquestionably,  the  misfortune  of  the  CathoUc 
remnant,  in  England  and  on  the  Continent,  that  it  should 
have  been  impossibk  for  them,  at  the  time,  to  accept  a 
trandation  which,  made  by  professed  heretics,  and  with 
more  than  a  suspicion  of  heretical  bias,  was,  nevertheless, 
as  it  still  remains,  the  crowning  glory  of  EngUsh  hterature; 
ihe  flowering,  as  Carlyle  says  of  Shakespeare,  of  all  the 
antecedent  oraturies  of  Catholic  dvilisatiw.'  Wl»Uier  it 


>"Tbe  Bno  m  Poet. 


21 


is  now  possible,  as  Dr.  Bany  has  ventured  to  surest, ' 
for  them  to  make  this  "  well  of  Eng^  undefifed  **  their 
own,  at  this  late  day,  it  is,  as  he  says,  for  the  constituted 
authorities  to  decide.  I  would  only  presume  to  suggest, 
for  my  part,  that,  since  it  is  the  aim  of  the  secret  foes  of 
Christianity  to  make  void  the  authenticity  uid  Divine 
authority  of  the  Bible,  and  since  it  is  to  our  interest,  no  less 
than  to  that  of  orthodox  Protestants— much  more,  if  any- 
ttimg,--to  maintain  that  authenticity  and  authority,  a 
common  Bible,  a  common  Scriptural  phraseology  would 
unquestionably  be  a  source  of  strength  to  them  and  to  us. 

The  alliance,  therefore,  between  the  Church  and  those 
of  her  separated  children  ^o  still  cling  to  the  Pereon  and 
Divinity  of  her  Incarnate  Lord  and  theirs,  in  the  face  of 
His  enemies;  who  still  hold,  in  spite  of  all  the  insidious 
assaults  of  modernism  and  of  the  self  styled  higher  critics, 
to  the  authenticity  and  Divine  authority  of  His  written 
Word;  must,  evidently,  if  it  is  to  exist  at  aU,  rest  on  these 
two  essentials  of  all  true  Christianity.  It  will  be  our  duty, 
m  that  case,  to  make  the  most  of  what  is  common  to  them 
and  to  us,  the  oneness,  namely,  of  the  Christ-life  in  all  who 
are  His;  theirs,  to  put  out  of  sight,  as  far  as  possible,  the  doc- 
trines aiid  practices  wherein  we  differ  from  them. 

It  is  in  this  respect,  as  I  honestly  believe,  that  a  com- 
mon Bible  would  be  of  untold  service  in  promotmg  a  better 
understanding.  And,  in  urging  on  English-speaking  Catho- 
lics a  closer  study  and  more  reverent  familiarity  with  the 
Sacred  Text,  I  am  only  urging  a  return  to  the  spirit  and 
practice  of  the  Saints,  the  Doctors,  and  devout  laity  of  the 
Church,  prior  to  that  loss  of  so  many  of  her  children  which 
she  has  never  ceased  to  deplore  and  to  suffer  from.  More- 
over, smce  it  is  only  by  increased  devotion  to  the  Saints 
that  we  can  hope  to  attain,  in  any  measure,  to  their  Ukeness 
to  Our  Blessed  Lord,  it  is,  surely,  only  our  wisdom  to  follow 
the  path  they  have  marked  out  for  us.   It  is  the  Bible  which, 


• '  •  UtMvy  Aqweta  ot  Did  Twitameat."   DiMia  Rtviaw.  July,  190». 


22 


in  a  very  real  sense,  made  them  saints.  Their  hearts,  their 
minds,  their  memories,  were  saturated,  if  one  may  say  so, 
with  those  Holy  Scriptures  ^ch  were  '*  able  to  make  them 
wise  imto  salvation  ".  It  is  shewn  in  their  prayers,  their 
hjmms,  their  meditations;  the  Breviary  and  the  Missal 
are,  literally,  made  up  of  Scriptural  phrases,  images,  and 
allusions;  is  there  any  better  nouiishmoit  of  our  souls  that 
we  may  presume  to  devise? 

In  the  revival  of  the  Scriptural  and  litrngical  spirit — 
they  are  one  and  the  same,  the  spirit  of  the  Church  and  of 
the  Saints-^oreover,  we  shall  find  not  merely  the  means 
Oi  mcreasing  our  devotion  to  Our  Blessed  Lady  and  to  the 
Saints,  and,  most  of  all,  to  Our  Dear  Lord,  but  an  ever  clearer 
recognition  of  our  fellowship,  in  Him;  and  by  Him,  with 
all  those  "  who  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity ". 
Then,  and  then  only,  may  we  hope  for  an  alliance  which, 
in  Him,  shall  lead  to  the  "  oneness  "  of  all  His,  for  which 
He  prayed,  on  the  night  of  His  Most  Bitter  Pasdon,  "  that 
the  world  may  believe  that  Thou  hast  sent  Me."  Tlien, 
and  then  only,  shall  we,  together  with  all  those  who  believe 
in  His  Divinity  and  His  Incarnation,  go  forth,  under  His 
Banner  of  the  Cross,  "  conquering  and  to  conquer  "  all  His 
foes  and  oxus,  whether  open  t  r  secret;  till  the  kingdoms 
of  this  world  shall  indeed  have  become  "  the  Kingdom  of 
Our  God  and  of  His  Christ."  Adveniat  Regnxjm  Tdum. 


Fbancis  W.  Gbst 


